Part 21

AN: Thanks to BMick and JoeyLuv for their suggestions for this chapter.

AN2: I am so sorry for the lack of update! RL has royally tied up my free time lately! Thanks to all of you for hanging with me, virtual chocolates to all! Also thanks to my ever persevering beta, nacimynom! Without her, this wouldn't be as good.

Waking in the infirmary was never John's idea of fun, but this time it royally sucked. His head was pounding, his eyelids were sticky and the inside of his mouth felt like it had been packed with cotton balls. Emitting a heartfelt groan, he mentally reached out and dimmed the bright lights assaulting his closed eyes. He heard movement nearby when the lights dimmed.

"Oh! Sorry, Colonel. I forgot to turn the lights down." He heard cloth rustle as Jennifer sat down. "Can you open your eyes for me?"

It took some effort, but John eventually succeeded in opening them a tiny bit. Finding the area sufficiently dim, he opened them the rest of the way. Focusing on Jennifer's face, he opened his mouth to ask a question but that was forestalled by a straw slipping between his lips. He let his eyes show his gratitude as he sipped on the cool liquid. After a handful of sips, the straw was pulled away and he looked around as Jennifer set the glass back on the table. He was lying on his right side almost on his chest, pillows and foam wedges propping him up, in the private room that Jennifer and Carson had set aside for his team. Right now he and Jennifer were the only two people present.

"Hey, doc. Is ev'ryone alright? How long was I out?" He was dismayed at how rough his voice sounded.

Jennifer smiled and placed her hands in her lap. "Everyone else is fine. There was an outbreak of rampant embarrassment and it's been not quite four days. Your back is severely bruised, which is why you're lying in this position. Can you tell me what hurts without moving too much?"

John shifted minutely, testing for aches and pains. He tensed as the slight movement sent spasms racing along his back. "My back hurts and my head is throbbing."

Jennifer smiled at the honesty. "Well, I can take care of that for you. You just have to suffer through an exam first."

John groaned, turning his puppy-dog eyes on her. "If I gotta, but make it quick, please?"

Jennifer did just that, checking his pulse, blood pressure and pupil reactions before listening to his lungs. "Well, no other problems have cropped up, which is good. I want to keep you the rest of the day and I'll release you first thing in the morning if there are no changes."

He was about to protest when Jennifer held up a hand. "I know what you're about to ask, and I'm keeping you because we want to get you up and moving around before releasing you. On the bright side, there are some folks waiting to see you."

John watched as she left through the door. A few minutes later, she ushered in his team plus Torren and Amelia. Torren climbed onto the bed to give John a careful hug while Teyla sat on the bed beside him. Rodney perched on the stool Jennifer had vacated while Ronon and Amelia sat on the bed next to his.

"Hi, Da! You better now?"

John returned the hug gingerly, feeling the muscles in his back pull. "Gettin' there, buddy. You been a good boy for your Mama?"

The toddler nodded as he snuggled in against John. "Yup. Unca Ronon an' Aunt 'Melia been playin' wit' me when Mama can't."

John raised an eyebrow and looked over at Ronon and Amelia. Amelia was blushing furiously, staring at the floor. "Aunt Amelia?"

Amelia glanced up nervously. "Um, yes, Colonel. He started calling me that the other day. I tried to get him to quit, but he persists."

"Good luck with that. Teyla says he got it from me." John shot her one of his trademark quirky grins. "Relax, Amelia. I'm not mad. From what I hear you're almost part of the family." He caught Ronon's quick grin in the corner of his eye. "Also, you can call me by my name when we're not on duty. I hear 'Colonel' and 'sir' enough; I don't want to hear it from my family."

Amelia nodded. "Yes, s… um…John."

John turned his gaze to Rodney. "So, Rodney, any idea what that program was?"

Rodney tapped his tablet a few times. "Yes, I do. Radek dissected it after the diagnostics were finished. It seems that Ferrin was naughtier than we first thought. The program was designed to activate if we ever had two or more ZedPMs installed. It caused the ATA gene to encourage the production of certain chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin and testosterone. In essence, all of the natural gene carriers ended up drunk."

"Damn, and I didn't even get to enjoy drinking to get that way." John frowned. "Why only the naturals?"

"Because the ATA gene is expressed at a much higher level in the natural carriers." Jennifer stepped through the curtain in time to provide the answer. "There must be some regulatory elements that we have yet to identify and thus replicate in the artificial gene used for the gene therapy."

Rodney waved a hand at her. "Yes, yes. That just means Carson's voodoo spell still needs some work."

Another question crossed John's mind. "Why didn't those of us with the stronger gene go nuts like the rest?"

Jennifer crossed her arms while she thought about the question. "My guess is that the stronger occurrence of the gene was more resistant, plus I've noticed that the stronger carriers also tend to have better self-control and mental defenses."

Rodney turned back to John. "That program was an insidious piece of programming for someone without the gene."

John frowned. "If I remember correctly, his lab assistants have the gene."

Rodney tapped on his tablet some more. "You're right. That means he's been testing on them."

Now it was Jennifer's turn to frown. "That would explain some of the unusual injuries those two have come in with." She held up two syringes for John to see. "Here's the painkiller I promised you and a muscle relaxant. It's not as strong as what you've had the last day or so, but it will dull the headache and back pain. The muscle relaxant will keep the spasms down. Either may make you drowsy, but rest is still the best medicine for injuries like yours." She quickly inserted the syringes into the IV and injected the contents. "On the good side, your back is only severely bruised – no broken bones and the cast on your wrist should be coming off soon. You'll still need to wear a brace on it for a while, but you won't have that clunky cast."

John gaped at her. "I thought I still had weeks to go."

Jennifer smiled at her astonished patient. "Normally you would, but Dr. Zelenka replaced the crystals in that bone fuser you identified and Dr. Strauhan used it on your wrist while you were unconscious. We could remove the cast now, but we decided to wait a bit longer to allow the bones to strengthen without any undue stress."

John smiled at the news. "Thanks, doc."

"You're welcome, Colonel." Jennifer turned to the rest of the group. "You can stay, but he needs his rest so keep the noise down." With that, she stepped through the door and left.

John started to drift off, but a question that Teyla had asked rose to the surface of his mind. "Rodney, I thought you were gonna wait on me to get to the chair before you installed the third ZPM?"

Rodney grimaced. "I was. I had just turned to tell Radek and Kavanagh to hold off and not install the third ZedPM. Kavanagh says that he thought I said TO install it and pushed it into the cradle before Radek could stop him. He's currently cataloguing the artifacts in the Danger Room."

The team talked of recent events, especially things that had happened over the last few days. It was music to John's ears and he fell asleep to it.

The next day, while his team was waiting for Jennifer to release him, Woolsey and Sam showed up. When they walked in, John was seated on his bed, dressed in his own comfortable clothes. Scrubs were better than gowns, but still he was much happier now. Befitting his 'I'm not on duty so don't bother me' attitude was his clothes. When Teyla brought them to him, it was evident that she had picked them out. She had brought blue jeans, and a black and white flannel shirt along with a t-shirt that read 'Shhh…this is my hangover shirt'. The shirt had been a gift from Rodney.

Upon spotting him, Woolsey said, "Ah, Colonel, I'm glad to see that you are awake. Feeling better?"

John started to nod and thought better of it. The pain was manageable right now, no need to aggravate it. "I am. Just waitin' on the doc to release me."

Sam came over and clasped his hand after exchanging greetings with the rest of the team. "Good to see you getting better, John."

John gave her one of his trademark grins. "Thanks, Sam."

Jennifer came over at that moment, handing a small bag to Teyla. "Okay, Colonel. Here are your meds. The instructions are inside. No physical activity except for walking and eating. You can do some Tai-Chi, but nothing else."

John carefully slid off the bed. With his team surrounding him, he slowly headed for the doors. Once in the hall, they headed for the transporter, Woolsey and Sam accompanying them. Just before they stepped into the transporter, Woolsey cleared his throat.

"Colonel, if you are not too tired, could I have some of your time?"

John glanced at his team, giving them a slight nod. "Sure. What's up?"

Woolsey looked around. "Not here. I'll explain when we reach the conference room. Major Lorne and Dr. Zelenka are meeting us there."

They all managed to get into the transporter. When the doors closed, Woolsey and Rodney both started trying to press the destination on the pad. John thought the struggle amusing until someone accidently elbowed him in the ribs. The pain stole his breath and left him gasping.

"Enough! Everyone stand still!" Fortunately, John didn't have to yell once he caught his breath; just raise his voice a little. He reached out and triggered the panel with his mental connection to Atlantis. For a while, he had been able to hit the locations without looking; now he could do it without touching. The transporter flashed, the doors opened and everyone moved out. John and Teyla were the last two to exit.

Teyla looked at the sweat on his face and his slightly hunched posture. "John, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just caught an elbow in the ribs." John straightened slowly. "I'll feel better once I sit down."

Teyla ducked under his arm, wrapping her own carefully about his waist.

Moving down the corridor, John looked down at his warrior princess. "When we get to our quarters, think I can get a backrub?"

Teyla looked up at her husband-to-be. "Of course. I would have offered if you had not asked. Also, Jennifer said that it would be beneficial to your healing."

Everyone else was seated when the pair stepped into the conference room. Concern flitted across their faces as they took in John's slightly hunched posture. Ronon started to stand but John waved him off while Teyla helped him into his chair.

"You alright, Sheppard?"

Leaning back, John let out a deep sigh of relief as he slouched in the chair. "Yeah, Chewie, thanks. Caught an elbow in the ribs during the shuffle in the transporter."

Sam looked up, a sheepish expression on her face. "Sorry, John. I think that was me."

John waved a lazy hand at her. "Don't worry about it." Lorne passed him a bottle of water. Taking a drink, John turned his attention to Woolsey. "So, what's up? Why all the cloak and dagger?"

Woolsey cleared his throat then folded his hands on the table before him. "Before we get started, I received word that the Daedalus is going to be late. There were a few issues that have since been resolved, but it put them almost two weeks behind schedule."

At Woolsey's news, Sam cocked an eyebrow. "Oh my, I'm sure Steven's not happy about that."

"That is a bit of an understatement from what I understand." Woolsey straightened his glasses. "We need to decide what to do about Dr. Ferrin." Turning to John, he continued. "Also, you still have a meeting to conduct with the science department."

"Well, as far as Ferrin, my ideas all seem to end up with him being delivered to Todd in lieu of a basket of fruit." John's nasty little grin was echoed by Ronon and strangely, Rodney.

Lorne held up the pen in his hand. "Why not just claim he went off the deep end and send him back to Earth? We could claim that he attacked you or McKay or even Dr. Z.?"

Radek let a grim smile cross his face. "I would swear to that. That man is worse than Kavanagh."

Rodney looked up at the group. "It wouldn't take much to goad him into a fit. I heard he was cursing up a storm after your last visit, Sheppard."

Lorne grinned. "I heard that too. The Marines on duty said he needs some lessons though. They said he has no rhythm for cursing and needs more practice."

"That figures." Rodney snorted. "Other than being a slightly competent programmer, the man is incompetent at everything else. His minions are even worse."

"Unfortunately, if you send him back to the SGC, even if you claim that he's mentally unstable, there are a few people there that would take him seriously." Sam shrugged, her hands going out in a gesture of 'hey, what can you expect'.

"I have a suggestion." Ronon's soft rumble came out of nowhere.

"Go ahead, Ronon, what is it?" Woolsey's fingers were doing a nervous dance on the table.

"Yeah, Chewie, spit it out."

"That outpost on M7R-673 is in good repair, right?"

Radek pushed his glasses up his nose. "Yes. ZPM is very low but outpost is habitable." He suddenly sat up straight. "Ah, I see where you are going! Yes, that is one that Kavanagh wants to study. It also has benefit of space Gate not land Gate."

Everyone stared at the grinning Satedan and the equally smiling Czech.

John flicked his gaze from one to the other a few times before a sly grin crossed his face. "We give Kavanagh his study and give him a few research assistants to boss around, including Ferrin."

Radek actually bounced in his chair. "Yes, yes! And we let all know that Kavanagh is in charge."

John observed the rest of the gathering for their reactions to the idea. Slowly, smiles cropped up around the table like daisies, albeit rather evil daisies due to the nature of the grins.

Woolsey sat back, rubbing his hands together briskly as if washing them. "Now that that bit of unpleasantness is out of the way, any suggestions on how to handle the scientists?"

"We could always threaten to send them offworld unescorted?" Ronon's deep bass added extra threat to his statement.

"Nah, can't do that, Chewie." John waved a hand in a negative motion. "We like most of the scientists, present company included."

"Oh thanks, Sheppard." Rodney's snark was back. "How many brain cells did you strain to come up with that one?"

"None, mine were too busy so I borrowed some of your extra ones." John's grin was his famous quirky one. "You know, the ones that associate to social skills that you don't have?"

Rodney stuck his chin up. "I…I have plenty of social skills. I just choose not to waste them on barbarians."

Teyla arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh? So we are all barbarians as well? Is this why you are sometimes overbearing, condescending and rude to us?"

Rodney paled then turned beet red.

John snickered. "She's got you there, Rodney. Better give up while you're ahead before she takes that foot you stuck in your mouth and shoves it in to the hip."

Reactions at the table ran the gamut at John's sally, from Sam's grin to Ronon's bark of laughter with Woolsey adding a barely concealed smile.

In lieu of an answer, seeing as he was outgunned, Rodney picked up his coffee for a long drink while shooting glares over the rim of the cup at the rest of the room's occupants.

Radek leaned forward to peer at everyone else. "Concerning meeting, I have suggestion."

John turned his chair a bit to focus on the Czech. "Alright, let's hear it."

Radek cleared his throat. "I think you should tell them similar to what you told Marines then prove that you know what they have been doing by assessing their projects."

John frowned. "What, like a teacher grading papers?"

Radek shook his head. "No, more like what you did with devices in infirmary."

"Ah. So you think that if I tell them things about their projects then remind them that I am not their lab rat and am not at their beck and call that they will listen?" John sounded rather skeptical about the whole thing.

Sam leaned forward to look at the pair. "He's right, John. It will work, especially if you tell them about their projects in the context of 'this is only part of what I can do, so don't screw with me'."

John sat quietly for a few minutes, obviously considering their suggestions, a grin slowly spreading across his face. "I like it. Done just right, they'll never know what hit them." He looked over at Woolsey. "Are you coming this time too?"

From his position at the head of the table, Woolsey nodded. "I am. Unlike with the military where I am only nominally able to give them orders, I do have more direct influence over the scientists. I also think you need more of an escort this time."

Looks of astonishment sprouted around the table. It was Teyla that voiced the thought.

"You feel that Ronon and I are insufficient to protect John?"

Sam shook her head. "No, it's not that at all. It's that some scientists are very impressed with appearances." She turned her gaze to John. "If you show up in full uniform with your team plus the leaders of the other Gate teams, it will definitely send a message that will be heard."

"I hate to say it, but I agree." Lorne chimed in as well. "No offense to the two of you." He tactfully added, looking over at Teyla and Ronon.

Rodney cleared his throat, having decided to rejoin the discussion. "Also, you don't have to reveal things about just the projects. Use your connection and tell them about things in their labs that they may not be aware of. You could even ask random scientists in the crowd for a challenge, you know, like these so-called 'psychics' do at shows."

John made a face and groaned.

Sam sat up straight. "You know, that might work even better. If you do that they can't accuse you of feeding the database back to them or having previously altered it to make yourself look better."

John grimaced at the thought. "True. We'll go with that idea."

Rodney shot a concerned glance over at John. "The meeting is in two days. Are you going to be okay?"

John nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Everyone in the room rolled their eyes at his stock answer.

Woolsey glanced around. "If there is nothing else, this meeting is adjourned." As everyone rose to leave, he cleared his throat again. "I would like all of you back in three days so that we can start planning for the upcoming move to our new planetary home."

Not wanting to get caught in the press at the door, John stayed in his seat, Ronon and Teyla staying with him.

Catching Radek's eye, John motioned for him to stay a moment. "Richard, when does the next report go to the SGC?"

Woolsey cocked his head slightly at his Military Commander. "Next week. This week's went this morning. Why?"

John gave a mischievous grin. "I'd like to send O'Neill a special surprise."

"Oh?"

John's grin got bigger. "Yeah. Here's what I want to do…" Motioning Radek, Teyla and Ronon in close, John detailed the message for the General.

When he was done, even Woolsey was grinning.

Radek was beaming with delight at John's proposal. "I can easily do. What you ask will be ready on time."

Ronon shook his head, dreads lightly waving. "Only you, Sheppard."

John grinned. "Yup, it's pure me."

With that settled Ronon helped John up from his chair and fell in at his back as they headed out.